Tuesday Morning

On our drive into the office today, we were talking about how exciting it will be to bring a team to Uganda with us next year. Most of the team have never been to Uganda and I am not sure what their experience is in other majority world countries. It is always fun to have someone new join us and we start to look at things here differently again- with fresh eyes if you will.
Things that were so foreign to us on our 2010 and 2012 building trips have now become "everyday" to us. However, there are still some things that are not comfortable for us and never will be. The "red hats" fit into that category. What on earth are the "red hats", you may be asking. Well, in Uganda there are several different types of police who wear different uniforms and have different functions. The traffic police dress in white and we see them every single day directing traffic and handing out traffic tickets. There are others dressed in brown and the ones dressed in blue who are often outfitted in riot gear. Then there are the "red hats". They are in a league all of their own.
Uganda often has riots, usually minor, and can be controlled by the guys dressed in brown or blue. They wear riot gear and, when necessary, use water cannons, tear gas, etc to subdue crowds. Our Ugandan friends were very surprised to learn that we had no idea what tear gas felt like- nope, that one is still very foreign to us. If crowds continue to escalate, even with the above measures, then the "red hats" show up and things usually disperse rather quickly. They carry serious weapons and it is my understanding that they have the authority to "shoot to kill". Yikes- that is serious business.
So you say, what does all of this have to do with your title "Tuesday Morning". Well, the main court building is just over a block from where we hang out everyday at Watoto Downtown. Normally we drive by the court building en route to our destination. However, this morning the road was blocked off (by the water cannon) and on the lawn were more "red hats" than we have ever seen in one place ever before. There were tents set up where they slept overnight on the lawn of the courthouse and as we drove by, they were lined up, presumably getting instructions for the day. There is a very important court case going on right now (regarding changing the maximum age the president can be) and it is expected there will be rioting. This is our first time seeing more than 50 "red hats" at one time and I am told there are several others posted throughout the city.
Now you are probably all thinking that this is a crazy place and we are unsafe. No- that is not the case. Even though seeing the "red hats" is never a good thing, we just know to avoid that area for the time being. We are safe. God is still God and He is in control of everything- He has far more power than a million "red hats"!
After our little detour, we arrived to begin our Tuesday. And let me tell you, Tuesday is an amazing day at Watoto Downtown. The whole Watoto team (around 300 people) gather for team devotions, an amazing time of worship and teaching. If you have never been here for a Watoto worship time, I wish you could be here to experience it. If you have been at Watoto before, I know you are envisioning it now and you are very jealous. So, for both groups- those who have never experienced it and those who are missing it, I tried to attach a little video, but that didn't work. I will try putting it up on Facebook.